*This blog post is an excerpt of a marketing research project that I did in November 2009 to analyze the effectiveness of social media in direct marketing for larger brands and the best method of measuring social media campaigns.
The print business is declining; newspapers and magazine industries are in disarray. People are turning to websites to find the editorial content that interests them. Online media allows marketers to build dynamic direct marketing campaigns. Therefore, marketers need to find a way to create an effective direct marketing strategy for the Internet that is not guided by traditional offline communications. Everything from the creative to the shopping cart can be manipulated simultaneously online to appeal to different consumers. Social media provides a new, unique way for companies to interact with their audience. Many marketers are afraid to get involved in social media because they do not understand it. Technology is changing so rapidly nowadays and it presents a challenge for marketers who have grown accustomed to offline channels over the years. Furthermore, some think that social media is a fad for those in the youth generation and that it does not provide any value to a business. Additionally, many companies do not get heavily involved in social media because they do not see it as a way to generate revenue. Nevertheless, there have been several success stories for companies who put forth a dedicated effort to social media. As a result, in order for the majority of direct marketers to significantly invest resources and budget into social media, marketers need to know its advantages over traditional direct marketing, its best practices, and its impact on revenue.
Many brands are using social media to gauge consumer sentiment. Tools such as Nielsen BuzzMetrics make it easy for marketers to see what people are saying about their brand. Savvy direct marketers can use this as a way to quickly react to any consumers concerns. Likewise, having this insight will allow marketers to capitalize off of any unexpected successes. In traditional media, marketers have historically had to wait until after a campaign ends to analyze results and know if their product/strategy was successful. However, social media allows marketers to receive an early report card on their campaigns and, thus, allows marketers to optimize on the fly.
There have been many cases where consumers have reacted negatively to creative on social media and brand marketers had no idea because their company did not have a presence in social media. Motrin is a brand that pulled creative as result of monitoring social media. Motrin found that one of its advertisements was offensive to mothers after backlash occurred on twitter one weekend. After the uproar, a Motrin VP issued a public apology and sent emails to some of the customers that expressed concern (Belkin, 2008). Being involved in social media allowed Motrin to react more quickly and address the issue before it escalated further. If this issue came about in traditional media, it would have been much harder for Motrin to pull the creative since the lead times are greater in traditional media such as television. Moreover, if this were a print ad, then Motrin might not have had a chance to even pull the ad if the magazines and/or newspapers were already pressed up and delivered.
Great, thanks for sharing this blog post. Really Cool.
Great post, i belive blog posts like this add so much value to the marketing community,i have learnt some valuable nuggets from you. Keep it Up! Sincerely, The Social Media Trainer
Great post, i think blog posts like this add so much value to the marketing community,i have learnt some valuable info from you. Keep it Up! Sincerely, The Social Media Trainer